Barbian / Barbiano

Town with a leaning tower

The Mediterranean flair of Barbian/Barbiano starts with its leaning church tower – which is apparently even more slanted than the famed Leaning Tower of Pisa. But your vacation pleasure here will still be on the straight and narrow: Here, in the sunny mid-altitude foothills (830 meters above sea-level,) the conditions are perfect for exciting holiday experiences. Quaint hamlets – Kollmann / Colma, Saubach / San Ingenuino, and Bad Dreikirchen / Tre Chiese – are nestled in the gently rolling landscape. In between, there are hiking trails, historical roads, waterfalls, and rustic inns where you can stop for hearty refreshments ("Törggele.")

Hiking throughout the Whole Year

Here, you can go hiking throughout the year. E.g., from Kollmann / Colma via the paved trail (the old Kaiserstrasse) to the Ritten / Renon; from Saubach / San Ingenuino to the best outlook points high above the Eisack Valley / Val d'Isarco; or to Bad Dreikirchen / Tre Chiese to see the three curious chapels there. Or perhaps you'd like to stroll around until you reach an inviting rustic inn ("Törggele") where you can stop for refreshments. Then there's the waterfall which you can watch crashing over the porphyry into the depths. The high-altitude meadows of Barbian/Barbiano and the Rittner Horn / Corno di Renon (2,260 meters above sea-level) are popular Alpine destinations in the winter, too.

Discovered Long Ago: The Pristine Landscape

The warm, southerly climate of this area in the gently rolling mid-altitude hills has long been a popular get-away for illustrious visitors: Sigmund Freud was a frequent guest in Bad Dreikirchen / Tre Chiese, and both Christian Morgenstern and Franz von Defregger spent their holidays here. The prestigious old buildings – especially the Pension Briol, with its distinctive Bauhaus Style architecture dating back to 1928 – testify to that.

Today, Barbian (470-1.123 m.a.s.l) with its outlying hamlets is a peaceful area with a wide range of vacation activities. It's the perfect gateway for a multi-facetted Alpine holiday.